There was a time not so long ago when a prison guard had some balls, some courage. Not any more! Now they are trembling pussies, gutless wonders afraid to let a prisoner have a pepper for fear that it would be thrown in their eyes. There was a time when a prison guard had some common sense, the discernment to tell what was important and what wasn't. Not any more! Now they are as dumb as a stump. It's the "big dummy syndrome," unable to recognize the trivial from the essential. A tucked-in shirttail is as important as a terminal illness. There was a time when a prison guard had some maturity, some adult decorum and respect for himself and for the prisoners. Not any more! Now the prisoners are cattle and fellow guards are dogs. There is neither dignity nor the forbearance to live and let live. Some people blame all the women who've whined into the system; all petty and superficial, causing friction and cattiness. Some people blame the enormous expansion in the number of people who are becoming guards. It's Pennsylvania's only growing industry. The work force has exploded into an army of publicly paid loafers, a voting block glutted with tax money. Some people blame the kind of persons who are now becoming guards, persons who are themselves deeply troubled individuals; neurotic, lazy, foolish, addicted, vindictive, ego maniacal and insecure. Some people blame the "corrections" industry, a bloated bureaucracy which has no constructive aims, no goal of improving or helping a prisoner, no sense of rehabilitation or redemption; a kind of dehumanized warehousing operation cum-abattoir. What pride can a guard have in such employment? What sense of accomplishment or self-worth? Whatever the blame, the result is the same. "Corrections" is a publicly funded industry which has failed to benefit the society. "Corrections" doesn't correct. It makes society worse. "Corrections" is a flop. Worse, it's a blight. The guards know that it's true. We invite them to send examples and suggestions.